So, here's a compilation of all the January trees - which is your favourite? Leave a comment below and we'll see if your favourite is the same as mine!
Which is your favourite January tree? Vote now!
When I started this blog, my friend Chris asked if we'd be voting on 'Tree of the Month'. And I thought, 'why not?'
Trees365 31/365
My final tree of January 2010 is from my garden.
My Mum bought me this bay tree several years ago and, despite suffering once or twice from lost leaves, dehydration and other ills, it's a plucky little tree and has survived!
Plucky little tree!
Trees365 30/365
Today's photograph comes courtesy of my husband John who disappeared off into the garden this morning and came back with some lovely pictures.
This is my favourite as it captures the lovely light day with blue sky and sun. I like the way John has caught the tops of several trees that are all distinct colours.
Hope tomorrow is sunny too - I feel so much better when I see light!
Tree Shaped Sanity
My friend Helen has just started a new blog - Tree Shaped Sanity. I'm very flattered that she thinks my idea of taking pictures of trees is not wacky, and actually quite a good idea! Her blog will feature one tree day by day, charting how it changes as spring arrives.
Why not pop by and see for yourself! I can guarantee you will be amused!
Trees365 29/365
A beautiful day this morning!
As I was running around the park, the sun came out and made my 50 minute run much more enjoyable! I even took a couple of picture whilst running!!
Perhaps another reason i enjoyed my run was that I had arranged a 'bacon buttie date' with my husband at the Blackroot Bistro in Sutton Park. Lovely butties and yummy hot chocolate :o)
And it's surrounded by lovely trees. This is just one of them. I suspect more will feature as the year goes on!
Trees365 28/365
As I drove to work on Thursday I saw this tree and wanted to take a picture but I was late and also driving!
I liked the fact that it offered some colour against the normally very brown trees at this time of year. So I went back on Friday morning to capture it for my post on 28th!
Trees365 27/365
A beautiful tree in the playground of Maney Hill School.
It has lovely delicate branches and is the first thing we see that shows we're nearly at school. Like the hint of green in the branches.
Trees365 25/365
This is a VERY special tree.
It's the tree that started me thinking about starting this blog.
I've studied this tree in detail - from afar - every Monday for the last 3 months. And today (Monday) was the last time i will stare out of the window whilst trying to avoid awkward subjects.
This one's for Nigel. Thanks xx
Trees365 24/365
Today sees the first 'guest tree' on Trees365.
Kindly sent by Jim Elder, it captures the beauty and colour of Tighnabruaich in Scotland, with a tree framed by reds and greens of moss and foliage.
Beautiful!
Trees365 23/365
Continuing on my quest to snap trees all over the place, here's another photograph taken through a car window!
This tree is on the way to IKEA, and is somewhere on the outskirts of Walsall. There are some amazing trees on the road into the centre - I'll have to go back another day and stop to take some photographs as it's too tricky from a speeding car!
Again, I liked the shape of this tree against the sky.
Trees365 22/365
This tree is in Sutton Park, near Wyndley Leisure Centre - and today it was quite a welcome sight!
Having not run over the Christmas period and then thwarted by the snow, today was my first 'proper' run of 2010. I belong to Sally Ellis' S E Fitness group on a Friday morning, and today we ran through mud and rain. And I survived!
This tree was at the end of the run - and I was sooo glad to see it.
Another week I'll capture some of the beautiful trees I see on my runs - today it was all I could do to keep running!
Trees365 21/365
A tree in Handsworth today.
It stood watch over my car.
And did a very good job.
Thanks lovely tree :oD
Trees365 20/365
Is this cheating? I guess it is really.
However, the tree on this mural is just the kind of tree I love to draw. A sturdy strong trunk with a few strong branches ending in finger like twigs.
I found it on the way back from a day in Handsworth discussing 21st century learning. It was one of those times when i would've been happy to be stuck in a traffic jam as there were three murals and I only managed to capture one of them. I'll have to go back to Handsworth I guess!
Trees365 19/365
Not a whole tree today but just a branch.
In fact, it's not even a whole branch.
However, at the end of the branch is the promise of new growth. And new life.
Trees365 18/365
For today's phootgraph, we're back in my back garden. It's good to see the grass again - although it looks rather flat, it's very lush!
This is our beautiful eucalyptus tree half way down the garden- it's very tall and this is taken from below. Expect lots more pictures of this tree as the year goes on!
Trees365 17:365
This picture was taken on the way home from Surrey, somewhere near Leatherhead.
As we drove along, I was struck by the lovely trees along the road and spent significant periods of the journey back to Sutton Coldfield taking photographs. Some were taken thorough the glass and others involved opening the window and taking the photos as quickly as possible. This caused great hilarity in the back as my kids hid under blankets, behind cuddly toys and generally were rather amused by the wind whipping though the car.
I took this one as I couldn't believe how tall it was and liked the delicate feathery branches.
I also took some rather lovely photos as we sped along the motorway - check out my set 'Sunset on the M40'
Trees365 16/365
This tree is in the centre of my sister in law's driveway in Burgess Hill.
I love it - each time I look at it, I see a different picture - an umbrella, a seagull flying, a Salvador Dalí moustache...
What do you see?
Trees365 15/365
I have to say that this is not my best picture but I spent Friday in a bit of a whirl and am lucky to have remembered a tree picture at all!
This was taken on the way to Olympia to present as part of TeachMeetTakeover on the Rising Stars stand!
Do like the lines of trees guarding the cars!
Trees365 14/365
Not a whole tree today but a beautiful branch that I took on the Thames Embankment whilst waiting for a boat trip along the Thames.
Love the spindly branches and twigs and the ball shaped fruit.
Trees365 13/365
On Wednesday, I woke up and opened the curtains at the Cumberland Hotel. And this is the beautiful view that greeted me!
That lovely tree is in the middle of the 'roundabout' that goes aroud Marble Arch. In the snow. And Hyde Park in the background.
So beautiful!
Trees365 - 12/365
Well, there's been a bit of a hiatus in blog posts here but I have been taking photos. Just been a bit busy to post them!
This tree is the first and most beautiful tree I saw in the road next to Kensington Olympia as I arrived on Tuesday morning.
Love the height of the tree and the explosion of branches at the top.
Trees365 11/365
With an ill child, I didn't get to venture far from home today.
These three trees are in a nearby road and always attract my attention as they are quite striking. Also captures the still snowy conditions in Sutton Coldfield.
For the rest of the week I'll be in London. Hoping to capture some 'capital' trees ;o)
Trees365 10/365
This sweet little conifer is in our garden at the top of the steps that lead into the sunken garden.
I've had a love affair with dwarf conifers since childhood when, aged 5, I had my own conifer at the end of our drive in Berkhamstead. I loved my conifer. However, so did our dog and it only survived Mano weeing on it for so long!
Every garden since then has had to have a dwarf conifer in it for me. We've got several in our rockery and this one is the biggest, standing on its own.
I think it looks lovely and feathery against the white snow. And so green.
Trees365 9/365
Today we had a family outing to Touchwood, our favourite shopping centre. Anywhere with a John Lewis, Apple Store, Zara, Fat Face and Build a Bear workshop is a winner for all 4 of us!
I've always admired this monkey puzzle tree - from when I worked in the tax office with my Dad in the holidays in the early 90s through visiting my sister when she was at Solihull Hospital training as a physio, Saturday trips to Café Rouge for lunches when I was first married to now, visiting Touchwood with my family.
It's a lovely tree, very tall and a rich green. And the name always makes me smile!
Trees365 8/365
Today's tree was taken on the way to school.
The sun was low in the sky and, without a flash on my iPhone, the tree is silhouetted beautifully against the sky which was a beautiful colour.
Oranges, blues and purples.
And crunching in the snow just added to the experience.
Trees365 7/365
Another snow day for me today and I spent it very productively, working hard - except I didn't do an of the things I'd intended to do!
However, only ventured out to pick up my boys from school so I picked another tree I see every day. This particular tree fascinates me as it still has all its autumn leaves on it - brown and crinkled, but hanging on for dear life! Love their tenacity.
Also love the blue sky on a snowy day!
Trees365 6/365
Today was a 'snow day' - school was closed due to the weather conditions. Which meant lots of fun in the garden building snowmen and being pelted with snowballs - which I think is a part of 'education' too.
This afternoon, I ventured up the hill and along the (very slippery) path to visit the Tesco local and took this photo which captured the afternoon - the sun shining on the snow and very few cars on the road. Very peaceful!
In this photograph, I like the colour of the clouds and sky behind the tree, and also the way that the tree grows out of the middle of the road! (it is on a small island at a V junction)
Another snow day (for me anyway) tomorrow :oD
Trees365 5/365
We took down out Christmas tree on Sunday and it's waiting outside the kitchen door until we can take it to the park to be chipped and recycled.
It started snowing at 10am this morning and although it stopped for a few hours, it started up again at about 2pm. This photograph was taken at about 4.30pm, soon after my youngest arrived home and started building a snowman.
Trees365 4/365
First day back at school today for my children so it seems appropriate to photograph a tree near their school.
We love this tree as it is an interesting shape, and it is an evergreen. As one of my boys said today 'it looks like a tree from a video game.'
And the sun was shining again! :o)
Trees365 3/365
The weather has been beautiful for most of the last week (apart from the bog cold ploppy rain yesterday afternoon that failed to turn into the snow for which my youngest is praying!)
The sun has been shining and the sky a beautiful blue as I looked out of my window in the morning. A welcome sight that I will miss when we go back to getting up at the crack of dawn for school.
Today's picture captures that blue sky at about 10am today as I ventured out into our frosty garden in search of inspiration. This is next door's silver birch - a beautiful tree with very graceful branches and lovely bark.
You can see my other pictures from this morning here.
Trees365 2/365
This photograph was taken on the way to the local cinema this morning to see Alvin and the Chipmunks - the Squeakquel.
It snowed last night and I liked the icing sugar coated pavement echoing the puffy light clouds behind the tree.
The tree is at the top of our road which is very steep and therefore is one of my favourite trees as, each morning, it signals that we're nearly at the top of the hill and it's then downhill all the way to my boys' school!
Trees365 1/365
JS, IS, JS Jr. and I went for a New Years Day walk today. I liked this tree as it had such a strong shape but also fragile branches shooting off. It was a lovely day too and the sky was blue.
I love trees!
I love trees. I find them calming, reassuring and remarkable.
So, this year I've decided to set myself a challenge and indulge my love of trees, documenting it for the next 365 days.
Hope you'll share my tree love with me.
Lisa xx